Browns Camp Opens In Earnest

Published: July 26, 1999 12:00AM

There's camp, then there is real camp.

''You can go through it all -- shorts and helmets and running and be in a Browns uniform, but until you put pads on and see people in the stands ... it was then you felt like, hey, I'm back, it's Cleveland Browns football again,'' said Antonio Langham, the Browns' former No. 1 pick, Sunday, the first day of training camp for veterans and rookies in full pads.

And no matter what happens from here out for the 'new' expansion Browns, one thing is fact: no National Football League franchise can beat them when it comes to getting their players into training camp on time. All 89 of Cleveland's roster players reported signed, sealed and ready to rumble.

Lomas Brown, a 15-year veteran offensive tackle, was there to challenge the 90-degree heat and quick rookie feet. So was another 300-pounder, Jerry Ball, a 13-year vet at defensive tackle. From the inspirational Chris Spielman, trying to come back from a neck injury and a year off football, to Steve Zahursky, a rookie free agent guard out of Kent State, being present and accounted for was the most important agenda on Day 1 of the 1999 Browns.

''For us, being a new football team, it's imperative we had everybody in,'' said Browns head coach Chris Palmer after a crisp morning session. ''We've got our quarterbacks, we've got our wide receivers. You can't make up time when guys are out.

''Now we can just concentrate on football.

''We don't have to answer any questions about when is so-and-so coming in,'' added Palmer.

Now the questions for Palmer are who will start, or how is so-and-so progressing? Most of those questions Sunday naturally concerned quarterback Tim Couch, the top pick in this year's NFL draft.

Couch looked solid in his turns at quarterback, both running the show and throwing the ball. But he was not as well acquainted with the entire offensive package as veteran Ty Detmer, whom Palmer said looked very, very good and left no doubt was still atop the depth chart.

Yet in the highlight of the morning 9-on-7 drills, it was Couch and wide receiver Kevin Johnson, a second-round pick, who hooked up on a 35-yard bomb that had players and fans alike barking.

There were also the usual dropped passes, the boneheaded offsides by the defense. From what Palmer and the players saw, though, the first practice was tough, but successful.

''I've been in some tough camps, (in Miami) with Jimmy Johnson and (Don) Shula,'' said running back Terry Kirby, ''to San Francisco, which was a little easier. This one is in between, but it's tough because everything is full speed.

''If we go out there and go full-speed and get (practice) done, it makes it all the better for us.''

Morning practice was so crisp it finished 212 minutes ahead of Palmer's tight schedule, which included 15-minute running clocks and a 25-second reset play clock for the 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

''I was pleased with the tempo of practice,'' said Palmer, who addresses the media only after the morning sessions. ''I thought we had good tempo ... I thought for our first (practices) that was pretty darn decent.''

Palmer alternately dished out praise and poison to his players Sunday. The offensive line (''I feel pretty good about it once we get going''), runners (''the running backs showed a little out there''), defensive line (''I thought the defensive line came off the ball very, very well''), and receiver Kevin Johnson (''Kevin had a pretty good practice'') earned compliments.

Then there was defensive end Hurvin McCormack. McCormack twice jumped offsides in the 11-on-11 drill, netting him two gassers in the soggy conditions, not to mention Palmer's ire.

''We had a couple of offsides, which you're never happy with,'' said Palmer, whose sharp tongue could be easily heard criticizing the expansion draftee from Dallas. ''We have statistics (from the NFL) that on defense if you create a penalty, the offense scores 46 percent of the time. You can't do that.

''We're trying to drill into our players penalties will not be accepted, and go from there.''

''I can accept criticism,'' said McCormack, ''because I know what I did was not right. You just have to concentrate more, and go on from there.''